In the most Republican Congressional district in New York, vulnerable Democratic Rep. Kathy Hochul was tied with Republican challenger Chris Collins in a horse-race matchup, according to a new nonpartisan poll.

A Siena Research Institute survey (PDF) found Hochul taking 47 percent to Collins’ 47 percent. Six percent of the likely voters surveyed were undecided.

Both candidates were seen relatively well by voters, given that the campaign — with lots of negative ads — has been in full swing for weeks now. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed had a favorable view of Hochul; 46 percent had a favorable view of Collins. Thirty-nine percent had a unfavorable view of Hochul; 40 percent had an unfavorable view of Collins.

Underlining the Republican hue of the district, Mitt Romney led President Barack Obama 51 percent to 42 percent in a presidential ballot matchup. Under the new lines of the district, drawn by a federal judge, voters would have gone about by a pretty similar margin for Obama in the 2008 election.

Voters surveyed said Collins, a businessman and former Erie County executive, would do a better job representing them than Hochul on the issues of jobs and the federal budget deficit. They were tied on who they trusted to do the right thing on Medicare.

Roll Call rates the race as a Tossup.

The poll of 633 likely voters in the district was conducted by live telephone interviews Oct. 1-4. It had a margin of error of 3.9 points.